Stauffer placed on disabled list before Thursday's season opener, lineups

The season hasn’t started and the Padres have already made a major move.

Tim Stauffer, who a week ago at this time was projected to be the Opening Day starter, was placed on the 15-day disabled list just before noon Thursday – four hours before the Padres open their 2012 season against the Dodgers at Petco Park.

Stauffer will be replaced on the Opening Day roster by right-handed reliever Brad Brach, who was recalled from Triple-A Tucson. Brach was among the last players optioned when the Padres made their final cuts Tuesday night.

Brach was driving to Tucson when he got the call Wednesday evening. "I had just reached the desert west of El Centro when I turned around," said Brach.

Stauffer went on the disabled list with a right elbow strain. He joins left fielder Carlos Quentin (knee surgery), outfielder Mark Kotsay (right calf strain) and infielder Logan Forsythe (sesamoid fracture and surgery) on the 15-day disabled list.

The decision to place Stauffer on the disabled list was made after he played catch at Petco Park Wednesday afternoon.

"I was playing light catch and it didn't feel great," said Stauffer. "I didn't want to have a big setback to start the year, so this was the course we decided to take."

In another move Thursday morning, the Padres said right-handed reliever Erik Hamren cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A San Antonio. The move opened a spot on the 40-man roster that the Padres might need for Jose De Paula when he clears up his visa issue in the Dominican Republic.

De Paula was moved to the restricted list Tuesday when the Padres needed a spot on the 40-man roster to activate Jeremy Hermida for opening day.

Brach, 25, is making his first appearance on an Opening Day roster after posting a 3-1 record and 1.69 earned run average over 12 relief outings during spring training. He made his Major League debut with the Padres last season, going 0-2 with a 5.14 ERA in nine relief appearances. A minor league closer with 112 saves over his four-year career, Brach has gone 12-11 with a 2.22 ERA in 206 relief outings since being signed as a 42nd-round selection in the 2008 draft.

Stauffer, 29, made six starts this spring, going 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA. He was the Padres Opening Day starter last season.

The Series: The Dodgers were 13-5 against the Padres last season, including 6-3 at Petco Park, after the Padres had a 10-8 edge on the Dodgers en route to their 90-win season of 2010. The Dodgers were recently sold to a group fronted by Laker great Magic Johnson for the record sum of $2.15 billion.

The Padres take on the National League’s reigning Cy Young award winner in Kershaw, 24, who last season allowed less than a runner an inning to reach base. In 233 1/3 innings, Kershaw had 248 strikeouts while allowing only 154 hits and 54 walks. Kershaw was 3-0 against the Padres last year with a 1.78 ERA in three starts and was 2-0 at Petco Park with a 2.20 ERA. In six career starts at Petco Park, Kershaw is 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA in six games. He is 7-3 lifetime against the Padres with a 2.32 ERA in 13 starts.

Volquez, 28, will be facing the Dodgers for only the second time in his career. He won that 2008 start, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings. Volquez is 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA in four games (three starts) at Petco Park.